‘Smallville’ Writer Reveals Plans for Scrapped Female Justice League Episode

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In the original scheme for Smallville’s final season, a female-led Justice League episode was intended. One of the writers elaborated on the potential lineup of the squad. Originally premiering in October 2001 on The WB, Smallville reworked Superman’s mythos for the modern era and ran for ten seasons, shifting from The WB to The CW. Throughout its run, it showcased numerous DC characters, such as Green Arrow, Aquaman, Cyborg, among others. The Justice League first appeared in Season 6, suggesting that an all-female version of the super team might have been featured in the series’ last season.

Discussing on the “Super House of El” podcast through CBR, former “Smallville” writer Bryan Q. Miller shared an early idea for a tenth season episode centered around a female Justice League. Lois Lane (played by Erica Durance) was set to join forces with returning characters Kara Kent/Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort), Zatanna (Serinda Swan), and Jayna from the Wonder Twins (Allison Scagliotti). Unfortunately, this episode never came to fruition due to time constraints in the final season and a lack of a compelling reason to bring these characters together. As for the proposed female Justice League episode, Miller stated:

The joy of combining the elements we’d previously used separately was tremendous, but alas, it didn’t last. In the end, there simply wasn’t enough time.

In the fourth season of Smallville, Lois Lane made recurring appearances, and she became a main character starting from Season 5. Supergirl was a regular character in Season 7, and she had a guest spot in two episodes – one each in Seasons 8 and 10. Serinda Swan’s character Zatanna debuted in the “Hex” episode of Season 8 and returned for a guest role in Season 9’s “Warrior.” Additionally, she was mentioned as an active member of the Justice League throughout Season 10. Lastly, Jayna and her Wonder Twin Zan made their appearance in Season 9’s episode titled “Wonder.

The Justice League Episode Could Have Been Great for ‘Smallville’

It’s truly unfortunate to learn that the planned all-female Justice League episode was cancelled, especially considering that the selected episode “Collateral,” which received significant criticism from both fans and critics, even earning a 3/10 from IGN in 2011. Fans would have undeniably treasured a team-up featuring characters like Supergirl and Zatanna.

Since Bryan Q. Miller had previously written Zatanna for two episodes on Smallville, it’s not surprising that she was included in his proposed female Justice League episode. Moreover, having Zatanna present during Supergirl’s farewell would have been an ideal conclusion, as actress Laura Vandervoort expressed at the 2020 New York Comic Con Smallville reunion panel: “I’ve publicly stated before that I wished Kara had a larger role in the finale, especially during the wedding. She didn’t get proper closure; she just disappeared without a proper goodbye. It would have been nice for both me personally and the character to bid farewell.

Although Smallville never had a female Justice League episode, the Arrowverse frequently created their own versions of female DC superheroes. For instance, in Arrow Season 2, Sara and Laurel Lance joined forces with Huntress in “Birds of Prey,” modeled after the original DC team with the same name. Later, a Birds of Prey-inspired spin-off titled “Green Arrow and the Canaries” was introduced in Arrow, featuring Oliver Queen’s daughter Mia (Katherine McNamara) as Green Arrow alongside Dinah Drake/Black Canary (Juliana Harkavy) and Laurel Lance/Black Siren (Katie Cassidy). Additionally, Supergirl, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow all had episodes where female superheroes teamed up. While the idea of an all-female Justice League episode might be met with criticism today as being “woke,” fans would have been thrilled to hear about it back then.

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2025-01-05 00:31